Managing Change by Bernard Burnes

Author:Bernard Burnes [Burnes, Bernard]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
Published: 2017-08-11T04:00:00+00:00

Choices and constraints: summary

It should be borne in mind that the particular mix of these four forms of constraint will vary from organisation to organisation, even where these operate in the same country and industry. Also, it needs to be recognised that these constraints are as likely to conflict with each other as they are to complement each other: for example, car companies operating in the United Kingdom may find that the culture of UK financial institutions favours short-term profit maximisation, while the car industry appears to require long-term investment in building market share. This may be one reason why the UK motor industry is now mostly foreign-owned. In addition, it should be noted that while managers are not obliged to take account of the constraints they face, they may well pay a price for this in terms of the performance of their organisation. Successful firms are likely to be ones whose managers are aware of, and can balance, the various constraints they face. This obviously raises the issue of managerial ability and competence, an issue we shall explore in some depth in Chapter 14.

Therefore, the key point to recognise from the above review is that the type of strategic approach adopted is a matter of managerial choice, but that choice is constrained by a variety of organisational, environmental, sectoral and national factors, as are the outcomes which flow from it. As was argued in Part 2, organisations and managers may be able to influence or change the constraints they face. By recognising that there are real constraints on managerial choice, as shown in Figure 8.7, one is acknowledging that both the realist and complexity perspectives on organisations have much to offer. At the same time, by recognising that some constraints can be consciously manipulated or influenced and changed, one is also acknowledging that the postmodernists’ arguments should not be lightly dismissed.

Even so, both the case for managerial choice and the argument for manipulating constraints need to be taken with a pinch of salt. The fact of the matter is that in the West, as noted by many writers, the Classical approach to strategy, latterly through the work of the Positioning school, still dominates the practice of strategy (De Wit and Meyer, 2010; Johnson et al, 2011; Mintzberg et al, 2009; Moore, 2011). Also, as was noted in Chapter 7, there is a tendency for decision-makers to ‘satisfice’. That is to say, rather than undertaking an extensive examination of the issues involved and searching for all the possible solutions, decision-makers tend to accept the first satisfactory solution to a problem (Butler, 1997). This equates to Argyris and Schön’s (1978) concept of single-loop learning (see Chapter 5). It is also similar to Cohen et al’s (1972) comment that decisions are often not taken but happen. They suggest that decisions occur when four independent streams meet: problems, solutions, participants and choice opportunities – the so-called Garbage Can model of decision-making (see Figure 8.8).

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